PUSH Travel, Time to Renew Your Passport

Time to Renew Your Passport

The U.S. State Department announced that passport processing wait times are back to pre-pandemic norms.

Destinations soliciting international events often must be nimble regarding overseas travel for presentations, meetings, and conferences. Thankfully, passport processing times have returned to pre-coronavirus levels. Passports are being shipped out within a six- to eightweek turnaround time for regular service and a two- to three-week turnaround time for expedited service.

For quite some time, we have seen passport requests and renewals taking abnormally long to fulfill, with wait times as long as up to eighteen weeks during the pandemic. However, with additional resources and dedicated employees at a fully committed State Department, processing times have eased off, reducing to eight to eleven weeks in October and seven to ten weeks in November.

Just as we saw hotel rates climb, so has the interest in traveling following the pandemic. Therefore, longer than normal processing times also sprung up as the State Department saw an extraordinary demand for passports this year, issuing the highest number of annual passport requests in history.

Even though processing times have diminished, we should still be motivated to apply for a passport well before any business or personal international travel, pop-up or planned, to avoid any issues or delays. The process is still the same; those interested in international travel can apply for a passport in person or by mail and check the processing status by enrolling in email updates. The cost, too, is still the same at $130 to renew or apply; expedited service adds $60.

In 2022, the State Department began a new program to allow online passport renewals, though the program has been paused.

At City and County administrative offices, recreation centers, libraries, and other public spaces, the State Department has introduced passport fairs. These fairs specifically target new passport applicants and have been, and are being, hosted in both December and January across the country.

So, whether seeking international events or not, now is a perfect time to renew or apply for a passport without a substantial lag time.